Wardrobe or safe.



i ARTHUR L. ELLISON, OF HIGH POINT, NORTH CAROLINA.

WARDROBE OR SAFE.

No. 881,673.A

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 10, 1908.

Application filed March 11, 1907. Serial No. 361,743.

To all whom 'it 'may concordi Be it known that I, ARTHURL. ELLIsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at High Point, in the county of Guilford and State of North Carolina, have invented a new and useful Wardrobe or Safe, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates toiimprovements in furniture and similar structures, and more especially to wardrobes, portable closets, kitchen safes, ortable refrigerators, and similar articles o comparatively large size, and it has for its object to provide improved means for securing orA uniting the component parts or elements of' articles of this character whereby permanent rigidity is insured without the necessity of making the parts unduly heavy, the interlocking devices for securing the parts being capable of disengagement to permit the article to be knocked down into compact form for shipment or storage, and the devices being capable of adjustment to insure a close fit of the parts and to compensate for shrinkage.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in certain improvements and combina.- tions and arrangements of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described and set forth in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the accompanying drawings z-Figure 1 is aperspective view of a safe or wardrobe constructed in accordance with my present invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of two cooperating sections of the safe showing them in detached relation to illustrate the relative arrangement of the interlocking devices for fastening them. Fig. 3 is a sectional view through a portion of two coperating sections showing the interlocking devices in cooperative relation.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated throughout by similar characters of reference.

The present invention is capable of being applied to various articles of furniture that are made up of a plurality of sides or sections, and in the resent instance, the invention is shown app ied to a structure similar to a wardrobe or kitchen safe as a particular embodiment thereof, although it will be understood that the invention is not so limited.

The structure shown 1n the present instance embodies a front and back 1 and 2, respectively, and the sides 3, thel sections or parts being'assembled in substantially rectangular relation to form the article of furniture, the front being preferably provided with a door 4 for permitting access to the interior. In the present instance, the end sections are fitted between the front and rear sections, and extending longitudinally of the front and rear sections adjacent to their vertical edges are a pair of grooves 5 and 6, the groove 5 being narrower and deeper than the oove 6, and into the groove 6 are adapted to fit the tongues 7 extending longitudinally of the opposite vertical edges of the side sections. In the edges of the side sections, preferably at one side of the tongue, are formed sets of inwardly extending recesses 8, a pair ofthe latter being formed in each vertical edge of the side sections in the present instance, and arranged toward the top and bottom thereof. Into these inwardly eX- tending recesses are fitted the interlocking members 9, the latter embodying, in the present instance, a plate fitted edgewise into the recess and having an aperture 10 through which a screw or other fastening device 11 passes, the latter serving also to reinforce those portions of the side Section that are divided or separated by the recesses for the interlocking devices, and offset from the aperture 10 is a second aperture 12 of a larger size, preferably, so that the limiting screw 13 passing therethrough will permit a limited amount of movement of the plate about the screw 11 of the pivot. A portion of this plate projects beyond the recess in the side section and it is provided with a recess 111 forming a hook 15 extending substantially parallel to the adjacent vertical edge of the side section.

Arranged in the grooves 6 of the front and rear sections are sets of projections appropriately arranged to coperate with the locking devices or plates on the end sections, these projections being provided, in the present instance, by 'tting pins or screws 16 into the ed es of the front and rearl sections so that tey extend transversely across the grooves in these sections, these pins being spaced from the bottoms of the grooves 5 sufficiently to admit the hooks 15 behind them as the sections are moved relatively in. a longitudinal direction.

In assembling an article of furniture equipped with interlocking or fastening devices constructed in accordance with the present invention, the front and rear sections are set up in parallel relation with the grooves facing one another and the end `sections are inserted between them, the tongue 7 on the end sections being fitted into the grooves 6 of the front and rear sections and the hooks 15 projecting from the edges of the side or end sections fitting into the deeper and narrower grooves 5 just above the pins 16. By sliding the end sections relatively to the front and rear sections, the hooks 15 on the locking devices will enter behind the pins 16, the inclined or cam surfaces 17 at the inner side of the hooks cooperating with the pins to draw these sections firmly together so that no cracks or openings will be left in the sections that would ermit play and enable vermin to enter. T e parts or sections may be unlocked and taken apart by a relative longitudinal movement of the side sections in a reverse direction, that is to say, in a direction that will withdraw the hooks 15 of the interlocking devices of the front and rear sections from the pins lo on the end section, and this enables the parts to be placed together flatwise for packing or storage.

'In order to prevent collapsing or folding of the sections when assembled, it is preferable to employ a top 18 having a peripheral liange 19 adapted to t around the upper edges of the several sections, the flange being rectangular or of a shape conforming to the shape of the article of furniture, so that the sections will be positively held in proper angular relation, and this top is also removable in order to permit unlocking movement of the sections, the top, when secured in place, serving to prevent unlocking movement of the sections. By giving the locking plates a little play relatively to the limiting pin or screw 13, the plate may be adjusted about the screw or fastening 11 as a center, and this will so adjust the hook 15 relatively to the cooperating pin or projection 16 that the sections will be drawn together closely 'when assembled, and this is advantageous for the reason that it not onlyv provides a means of adjustment to compensate for shrinkage of the wood composing the sections, but it also enables the interlocking deyices to cooperate properly after being adjusted, thereby avoiding the necessity of accurately locating the members of the interlocking devices on the respective sections, the interlocking plates being clamped in adjusted position between those portions of the side sections lying at each side of the grooves 8, the screws serving to draw these parts together.

Articles of furniture constructed in accordance with my presentinvention are very lirm and rigid and not liable to become loose in use, and when necessary their comjmnent sections may be readily unlocked and taken apart for packing, storage, or repair, the interlocking or securing devices being capable' of adjustment to compensate for shrinkage of the sections and to insure a perfect and firm lit for the sections, and while the invention is shown in the present instance as applied to a wardrobe or safe, it will be understood, of course, that this is merely a single embodiment of the invention, and that the latter is capable of being applied to furniture of various kinds.

that is claimed is l. In an article ofthe character described, the combination with a pair of cooperating sections, one of the latter having a longitudinal groove, and the other section having a. tongue to cooperate with the said groove, of interlocking devices for detachably connecting the sections embodying pins extending transversely of the said groove on one of the sections, and hooks carried by the other section and projecting beyond the tongue to cooperate with the respective pins, the latter and the hooks being engaged and disengaged by a relative longitudinal movement of the sections guidedy by the tongue and groove, and the sections being detachable b v a relative lateral movement thereof.

2. In an article of the character described, the combination with a pair of sections, onel of the latter having a longitudinally extending tongue, and the other section being provided with a groove to receive the tongue and a second groove narrower and deeper than the groove first mentioned, the sections being detachable by a relative lateral movement thereof, of interlocking devices for detachably securing the sections in cooperative relation embodying pins extending transversely of the narrower groove, and hooks having portions guided in the said narrower groove and projecting beyond the tongue to engage and disengage the said pins by a relative longitudinal movement of the sections.

3. lfn an article of the character described, the combination with a pair of cooperating sections, one of the latter having a longitudinally extending tongue, and the other section having a groove to tit the tongue and coopei ate therewith to guide the sections when moved longitudinally and to prevent relative lateral movement thereof, and also having a narrower groove extending deeper than the tongue receiving groove, of interlocking devices for securing the sections in cooperative relation embodying a pin extending transversely of the said narrower groove in one of the members, and a hook rigidly attached to the cooperating member and projeoting beyond the tongue thereon to enter my own, I have hereto afxed my signature the narowe" groove and having n inehne in the presence of two Witnesses. s ot e a te to engage t e in tleren an Q produeert locking action betvgfeen the tongue ARTHUR L' ELLISON' 5 on one section and the eoperating groove on Witnesses:

the other section. N. W. BEESON, In testimony that I claim the foregoing es W. F. MINKEY. 

